The Invisible Heero
by Irishfae
Summary: In times of war the perfect soldier has purpose and direction, but what happens to the soldier when there is no war to fight? Can he find a place in a 'peaceful' world? Or does the perfect soldier just disappear?   Warning: Dark Heero/Duo-centric
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I had started this story many moons ago and just never finished it, until recently. It is six chapters long, so I'll post one every day, which will give me time to fix the last two chapters that were preserved without formatting in the 'to' section of an email draft.

This is Post EW.

Warning: This is uncharacteristically dark for me. Not as dark as some out there, but dark for me.  
>Established pairings: Wufei and Sally &amp; Quatre and Trowa<br>Oh and if you like Relena, I've made her no so nice.

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing, but I do love borrowing them from time to time. 

**Chapter 1**

"Morning Heero!" Relena Peacecraft answers her in a sing-song voice.

"Ah, Good morning Relena." Heero stands awkwardly in the corner of his office watching the closed door like a hawk for someone who might insist on walking in while he is on the phone.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" She asks somewhat distractedly.

"It is New Year's Eve and I hadn't heard from you about our plans for tonight." He shoves his free hand into his jean's pocket and fiddles with the paperclips he had thrown in there while doing end of the year filing.

"Our plans?" Relena sounds confused. "You're not in charge of tonight's Preventers. I thought you were staying home?"

"I thought I was going to be attending the party as your boyfriend, Relena."

"My boyfriend?" She laughs and then Heero hears Relena's muffled shouting. "Dorothy, when did I break up with Heero?"

As Heero hears this, the color drains from his face and the nervousness he was feeling transforms into something gut wrenching, which he doesn't quite give into before he hears more from Relena. "Shit." She hisses. "I'm sorry Heero, I was supposed to have called you two days ago to break up with you. I'll be going to the party tonight with Ambassador Lucas Richards."

Heero stands in the corner of his office unmoving for several moments. "Heero, really I don't have the time for this. I'm sorry I didn't remember to tell you, I had to move my calendar around and that was one of the things that got rescheduled." She really doesn't sound sorry at all. She actually sounds more like she's running around doing several other things instead of having a conversation with her now ex boyfriend.

"What do you mean you forgot Relena?" He asks, anger rising in his voice.

"It wasn't on the calendar. Well I mean it was, but got rescheduled to sometime next week."

If it was possible for Heero to lose anymore color from his face, he did so. "What was so wrong with me that you couldn't have sat down and talked to me?"

"Well honestly, you're boring, ridged, frigid, have no personality and have no clue of how to be a boyfriend much less a lover. Granted you're physically appealing. Stunning really, but you have no life to speak of, no sex drive and know nothing past being a soldier. I need someone with a little more class and someone who is a little more assertive when it comes to fucking. Your perfect package needs a little more to make it exciting. But if you'll excuse me I have a party to get ready for." She ends the call before Heero can say anything to her. So he does the only thing he can think of doing at the moment and stands and glare at the phone as if it was the root of all evil in the world.

After five or so minutes of staring at the phone Heero decides to sit down at his desk. The screen saver on his monitor had activated while he was talking and the screen is now black. The black screen coupled with just the right lighting allows Heero to see his muted reflection. _"Boring?"_ He mutters quietly as he stares at his reflection. _"Maybe I am. I really don't have any hobbies, don't have many friends outside of the ones I've had for seven years. Am I really that lacking as a human that I simply get forgotten by the girl I have been dating for the past 4 years?"_

He throws his phone across the room and watches it shatter as it hits the wall with inhuman force. _"Is my life truly that horrible and worthless?"_He runs his hands through his hair and locks his fingers behind his neck as he hits his desk non-to-softly with his forehead. Just as his head makes contact with the desk he stands up, effectively catapulting his chair into the wall and walks out of his office, not caring in the slightest that there was a quickly fading red mark dead center on his forehead.

Heero finds Duo in the Preventers gym surrounded by several woman all biding for his attention. Jackie seems to be the winner today as he is whispering something in her ear that is causing her to blush bright red and titter like a school girl.

"Duo? Can you spare a moment?" Heero asks softly.

Duo doesn't even turn around. "Give me a few Yuy, I'll swing by your office."

With the mention of his last name, Heero knows that Duo is on the prowl and not really paying attention to anyone around him. Let alone his emotionally closed off and socially inept partner and best friend. "Duo, please I really need to talk."

Again, Duo doesn't turn around and continues to fawn over his newest interest. "I'll meet you in your office Heero." He sounds annoyed. "I need to shower and change first."

Heero could feel his eyes starting to burn. He never cries, but right now he feels them threatening in the corners of his eyes. "Fine." The word is soft, so soft he doubts that even Duo could hear it. Then he turns and leaves. He doesn't stop back at his office to retrieve his jacket or his car keys – his house, office and building keys are all attached to his badge – and runs through the hallways, out of the door and the seven miles to his apartment.

With lithe fingers he opens up the door, walks in and closes it behind him. His dark blue eyes gaze blankly around his barren apartment. It is a boring cream color, one that most apartments seem to have painted on their walls. In the living room there is a small desk by the window with a rather ridged looking desk chair and a desktop computer along with a docking station for a laptop. Nothing apart from computer accessories adorns the top of the desk.

On the small kitchen table sits three pictures. One is of the five Gundam pilots right after the wars. One is a photo taken of Relena and Heero on their last vacation in the summer. Heero thinks that they looked happy together in that picture. The last photo is one of Heero and Duo standing next to each other in suits. It had been taken at Trowa and Quatre's wedding two years ago. Both men sport large smiles and Duo had his arm casually flung over Heero's shoulders.

Duo had always been the one pilot Heero felt like he could share almost everything with. Especially, after Trowa got married, Heero felt awkward calling his friend with silly little issues. So Duo had become the closest thing Heero has ever known to a best friend. And that best friend just ignored him as if he was a no one; an invisible person not worthy of even the slightest eye contact.

Heero snatches the picture of Relena and himself and whips it at the cream colored kitchen wall. He watches the frame break and the glass shatter with a slightly twisted smile on his lips. When the glass and frame have come to a rest on the floor Heero walks over to it and stares at the pieces of glass on the floor. Eyes trained with eagle like observation find the shard of glass which is the sharpest and big enough to be held with more than two fingers.

He sits down at the table directly in front of the two remaining pictures and looks at them, tears now freely running down his face, but he isn't aware he is crying. Carefully, Heero places the shard of glass on the table, takes off his watch – a gift from Quatre – and rolls up his sleeves to the elbows.

"So my girlfriend forgets about me to the point where she didn't even think about telling me that she broke up with me and my best friend wouldn't even look at me. This world has no place for this genetically engineered perfect soldier. I'm passé, useless and can't see any reason to be taking up space any more." Heero says aloud with a bitter laugh and picks up the shard of glass with his left hand.

With incredible precision he slits his right forearm, starting at the elbow and stopping at the palm of his hand. The thin glass manages to slice with almost scalpel precision and if Heero feels any pain as he slices deep into his right arm, it does not register in his eyes, face or body at all.

Then with an almost painful calmness he takes the glass in his right hand and mimics the incision he just made on his right arm on his left. Satisfied with the cuts he places the piece of glass just out of reach of the blood that has currently started to pool on the table. With an amused look on his face he places his arms on the table, incisions facing up so he can watch the bright red fluid stream from his body. He watches until he passes out.

Author's Note: I had started this story many moons ago and just never finished it, until recently. It is six chapters long, so I'll post one every day, which will give me time to fix the last two chapters that were preserved without formatting in the 'to' section of an email draft.

This is Post EW.

Warning: This is uncharacteristically dark for me. Not as dark as some out there, but dark for me.  
>Established pairings: Wufei and Sally &amp; Quatre and Trowa<br>Oh and if you like Relena, I've made her no so nice.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read Chap 1.  
>I've tried to catch all the grammar mistakes, but I am sure I have missed things. <p>

**Chapter 2**

Quatre Winner sits in his home office working on his computer, his husband, Trowa Barton sits long ways on a leather loveseat next to the desk reading a book. Without any sort of warning Quatre lets out a scream of anguish and one hand clutches at the area over his heart and his other hand cradles his head.

In the mere seconds that it takes Trowa to make it to his husbands side, Quatre is breathing hard as if he has just run a marathon at a sprinters pace and his turquoise eyes are wide with dilated pupils. "Quatre?" Trowa asks in a very worried voice.

"Heero. Home." Was about all he could get out before another wave of anguish and pain rolls through his body.

"Fuck!" Trowa stands, rushes to the door and opens it. "I need a car in the front, ready to go now." He shouts to the house and rushes back to Quatre. "Come on Quatre." But Quatre is not able to reply to Trowa, nor is he able to stand as the pain coming from his friend across the city, travels through his body at crippling levels. "Fuck!" Trowa swears again, grabs Quatre under the knees and around the back and makes for the front door in a mad dash.

One of the servants stands at the already open door. Trowa see their usual black 4 door sports car with black leather seats running in the driveway with the front doors open. He quickly, but gently places and straps Quatre into the passenger's seat before hopping into the driver's side and barely closing the door before shifting the car out of park and hitting the gas.

As they fly out the gates. Trowa pulls his belt on and his piloting instincts take over. He switches the Preventers light on so that he doesn't have to worry about the local law enforcement as he speeds through the city towards Heero's apartment.

Though almost all of Trowa's concentration focuses on driving he does attempt to get Quatre out of his frozen state. "Quatre. I need you to be here with me. We're almost there."

"By Allah Trowa, what has he done?" Quatre whispers softly.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. Quatre, I need you here with me. Hopefully, it isn't something bad, just very strong emotions." Trowa knows this to be bullshit before he even finishes the sentence. For Quatre to feel the emotions so strong something horrible must have happened and he prays to whatever god there is that when he gets to Heero's apartment his friend would not already be dead.

"I know, I'm sorry." Quatre apologizes quietly.

"Quatre there is nothing to be sorry about. But I need you to block the emotions. I need you alert enough to drive or do whatever else you need to do." The blonde nods and closes his eyes to raise his shields and block his empathic ability.

When the black sports car pulls up to the apartment building, Trowa throws it into park and flies out of the car, with keys in hand, and up to the fourth floor with the ease of the wind. As Trowa turns the dead bolt of his friend's door he finds it odd that the deadbolt was not engaged, which was very unlike Heero, even if he is inside.

"Oh no." Is the only thing that Trowa is able to vocalize as he opens the door and sees Heero slumped in his chair, blood covering himself, the table and the floor. Without wasting a moment Trowa checked to make sure that his friend was still alive and at the first sign of a weak pulse he grabs Heero much the way he had grabbed Quatre minutes earlier and rushes him out of the house, down the stairs and shouts for Quatre to open the back door for them.

The look of shock on Quatre's face does not slow the blonde's actions down in the slightest as he opens the door for Trowa and bolts to the driver's side of the car. Trowa slides into the back seat, carefully cradling Heero and closes the door. The moment the back door closes Quatre takes off—this time throwing the sirens on along with the lights—for the nearest hospital.

While Quatre drives, Trowa performs was little rescue first aid he can do in this particular situation, knowing full well that what he really needs is several bags of blood and lots of stitches. "Hospital." Trowa shouts to no one and lights on the cars center dash lights up.

"Emergency room." A sweet sounding woman answers.

"Preventer down. Have people waiting at the door. Agent has lost a lot of blood."

"Do you have the blood type sir?" The woman asks calmly and Trowa fumbles with Heero's blood soaked clothes trying to find his dog tags.

"A positive." Trowa shouts back.

"Thank you sir. When exactly will you be arriving?"

"Now." Quatre answers as he comes up to the emergency room door. "They are coming inside."

As if the timing were perfect Trowa gets out of the car and a team of medical professionals met him there. "Please place him on the bed sir. We'll get him taken care of, but please talk to the secretary over at the admittance window." Trowa gently places Heero down on the gurney and the staff wheel him away. Trowa looks back to Quatre who nods and drives off with the car.

When Trowa finally makes it into the emergency room waiting room the only thing he sees is Heero's feet going through a door leading deeper into the hospital. "Ah." He looks around the waiting room and there are several horrified faces staring at him. A nurse quickly runs out from behind some desks and opens the men's bathroom door for him.

"I'll get you a new shirt. I'm sorry I can't offer any real pants, but I might be able to dig up some scrubs. Please wash up and I'll have a change for you when you get out."

Trowa nods thankfully and pulls his destroyed shirt over his head. He wipes any excess blood off his arms and hands and throws the shirt into the sink in front of him. After a few minutes of scrubbing, blood no longer coats his arms and hands. Satisfied, he dries his hands and looks to see if there are any extra garbage bags beneath the one in use. As luck would have it there is one and he uses that for holding his blood soaked shirt. Shirtless, he returns to the waiting room.

The half clad man spies Quatre talking to the admittance personal and the nurse so wonderfully has a shirt and a pair scrub bottoms waiting for him. He smiles in thanks and walks back into the bathroom to change his pants before re-emerging and walking over to the blonde who is quickly filling out paperwork, the garbage bag with his ruined clothes slung over his shoulder. "Did you get a hold of every one?"

Quatre shakes his head. "Wufei is running a mission and is currently on radio silence, someone will let him know when he comes back. Une has been advised and Sally is on her way down."

"Duo?" Trowa asks as he slides an arm around Quatre.

"On his way too. He kept saying something about it being his fault. He's going to be a wreck when he gets here." The blonde sighs. "So much for our romantic New Year's Eve together." Quatre says sadly, leaning against Trowa for a moment.

"But imagine how you would feel tomorrow if you hadn't known about Heero and found out that he had died." Trowa says quietly.

The blonde shivers at the thought. "Allah, Trowa. I don't even want to imagine something like that." Quatre hands all the paperwork back to the admittance person and she dismisses him saying that she has everything she needs for right now. "What could have happened that made him break like that."

"He did blow up Wing Zero while still in it. That was suicidal. Would have died if I hadn't found him." Trowa smirks at the irony of the situation.

"I did the same thing." Quatre reminds his husband softly.

"Yes, but you weren't in contact to your Gundam when it blew. You didn't have to leave the cockpit, but you did."

"What happened?" The stern voice of Doctor Sally Po resonates in the minds of Quatre and Trowa.

"I don't know." Trowa responds simply.

Quatre shakes his head. "We were home and all the sudden I felt a wave of despair and anguish coming from Heero and I could tell he was somewhere in a barren environment. For some reason I knew he was home. Like he was projecting the color of his walls. Trowa found him."

Sally turns her attention to Trowa. "I didn't bother looking around too much, nothing seemed horribly out of place, save for Heero's blood which was all over the kitchen table, himself and the floor."

The doctor nods. "Can you do me a favor and go back and see if there are any clues." She turns to Quatre. "I have to go back and meet with the doctors to make sure that they continue to follow my request for no drugs. I want to see how bad the damage is. Can you stay here and wait for Duo. Une's driving him here and someone is following with his car. He wasn't in the best of shape when I saw him, but I didn't have time to deal with him before I left."

Quatre simply nods and Trowa lifts the car keys from the blondee's pants pocket. "I'll be back." Trowa leans over and kisses Quatre. "I'll be right back." Quatre nods again and sits down to await the arrival of the Deathscythe pilot.

Sally doesn't wait for the men to take action; even before they leave she is through the ER doors in search of Heero. "Excuse me Ma'am, but you can't be back here."

The ex-major smiles like a predator hunting her prey and pulls out her Preventers badge. "Doctor Sally Po, Head of Preventers Medical. You'll be so kind as to show me what room Heero Yuy is in."

The young intern stares blankly at her for a moment. "Doctor Po, Heero Yuy is currently in surgery."

"Well then, show me where it is, get me a set of scrubs and I'll leave you alone." Sally says as she takes a look around and begins to walk down the hallway on her right, having ascertained that the surgery ward is that way.

"I'm sorry doctor but you can't go there." The intern pleads, but Sally simply turns around, pulling her side arm out of the holster around her waist.

"You will lead me to Heero Yuy and you will find me a pair of scrubs. Or we'll be operating on you as well." She disengages the safety and the poor intern stands there staring at the major and the gun as if frozen. "Now!" Sally barks and the intern bolts down the hall that the doctor had already started down. Sally smiles, happy to see her orders being followed, re-engages the safety and re-holsters her gun.

Moments later, Sally is in the operating room all prepped for surgery. Heero is lying on a table, an IV attached to a blood bag slowly feeding A positive blood into his arm. Another IV provides the saline drip. Sally surveys the rest of the equipment in the room: a heart monitor beeps slowly in the corner and a respirator forces oxygen into the catatonic man.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Po. I believe you were told about my arrival." She introduces herself as she looks at Heero.

The other doctor nods. "I was." He says and continues to work on Heero left arm.

"Status?" Her eyes dart over and look at the already stitched right arm.

"Lucky. Much longer and there would be no chance in hell of him making it, even with all the genetic manipulation." Sally shoots him a disbelieving glare. "I was a doctor for OZ during the wars. Heero Yuy was one of the more interesting specimens the medical department received biological scans of." He shrugs and continues explaining. "The incision on his right arm is mild compared to his left. I don't think I'm going out of a limb if I say he's right handed and cut his right arm first. The incision on the left, on the other hand, was slit clean to the bone. He cut through tendons, nerves and did major injury to the muscles. Repairing everything shouldn't be a problem. He will need physical therapy to regain proper use of his left hand though."

"Fuck." Sally hisses. "I'll leave you to your work. Thank you doctor. Please do not administer any drugs to him before consulting with me." She turns to leave. "Oh, his partner is on his way here. It might be best to put Mister Yuy into a private room."

"Of course." He replies and delves back into his work.

Sally removes her scrubs and places them in the hamper for cleaning before returning to the waiting room. As she clears the ER doors Duo rushes her, tears streaming down his face with Quatre right on his heels. Sally catches the Deathscythe pilot easily and he collapses on the floor in front of her. "It's my fault. Oh God. Sally it is all my fault."

Quatre picks Duo up and Sally meets eyes with Director Une. "Duo, I'll be right back to talk. I have to talk to Director Une for a moment so she can get back to work." Duo nods weakly and lets Quatre guide him to a corner of the waiting room.

"How is he?" Une asks as she and Sally take up position in a corner opposite the men.

"Could be better. He's still alive. Barely, but alive. He wasn't joking. There was no cry for help. He had cut to die Lady and he would have too if Quatre hadn't sensed that something was wrong." Une nods.

"I'm putting all the pilots off duty. Wufei as well when he gets back. They're going to band together no matter what, so I might as well make it easy for them. I'm going to assign individual counseling for Heero and Duo. As well as group counseling for all of them as needed. Dying while fighting is one thing. Trying to commit suicide in peace times is another. I want to know what happened Sally."

Sally nods. "I've sent Trowa to do recon at Heero's. See if there are any clues there. I'm going to talk to Duo next. Did he mention why he thinks this is his fault."

Une shakes her head. "He curled up in a little ball in the passenger's seat and cried the entire way here." She frowns. "I have never seen Maxwell this upset. I want him under 24 hour supervision."

"I'm fairly certain he is going to insist on staying here with Heero."

The director nods her head. "Then I will make sure that they allow him too." She pauses. "Has anyone called the Ambassador Peacecraft?"

Sally shakes her head. "I'd rather not have her here. She tends to put the other pilots on edge and I think right now they need to handle this together without her involvement."

"I would suggest not calling her at all." Trowa says from behind the women. "I found this in the kitchen." He holds up a baggie containing the broken picture frame and ruined picture of Heero and Relena sans glass. "I also found a piece of glass on the table, looks like that is what he used."

"Great, so knowing Heero, she had something to do with this. Sally talk to Duo, I want to know how he fits into this. We'll figure how Relena fits into this later." Sally nods and walks away, knowing the conversation is over. Duo is curled up in Quatre's arms. Despite the fact that Duo is a grown man of 21 years, he doesn't look a day over six as he cries in Quatre's arms.

"Duo, I need you to tell me what you know." Sally gently places both her hands on his damp cheeks and makes him look at her.

"He found me in the gym. I was flirting with some girls and trying to get invited to the party Tracy from HR was throwing tonight. He asked me if he could talk to me for a moment and I blew him off. Didn't even look at him. He asked me again and _again_I blew him off. Fuck, I didn't even bother looking at him. If I had I would have known something was wrong. But I didn't because I was more interested in getting laid tonight then helping my fucking partner and best friend." He pulls his legs up onto the chair and balls up. "When I went to his office to find him, I found his cell phone smashed to pieces on the floor and all of his stuff still in his office, but no Heero. I figured he just went for a walk to blow off some stream. And then Quatre called and I knew without being told that something had happened." The tears started streaming down his face faster. "It is all my fucking fault Sal, if I hadn't blown him off, this may never have happened."

"Duo. Listen to me. It isn't your fault. He cut to kill. Something was building up. Something was wrong long before now."

"Doctor Po, you're needed in surgery now. Something's wrong." The same intern who she had fought with her earlier informs Sally.

"Fuck." She stands. "Watch him." Sally warns Quatre and bolts for the room where Heero is in surgery.

"Oh God Quatre, what if we lose him." Duo cries as he starts to rock back and forth in his chair.

"Duo we're not going to lose him. Sally's here and she's not going to let him die." Quatre whispers to the rocking form as Trowa takes up position at their feet.

"Why would he do this? He can't leave us. Fuck, he can't leave me." He says through chocking sobs.

"Duo. Sally's here, Une made sure that he would have the best doctor in the area watching over him and she's not going to leave until he's out of the danger zone." The blondee says as he squeezes Duo's shoulders protectively. All Duo Maxwell can do is nod weakly and let his friends watch over and hold him close until new news of Heero comes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Three hours, an episode of cardiac arrest and a seizure later, Doctor Sally Po watches two nurses wheel Heero Yuy to an ICU post surgery observation room. He has still to wake up; though as far as the doctors can tell he did not suffer any loss of oxygen to the brain and he should not have any adverse side-effects from the transfusion. He should be able to make a full physical recovery, whether or not he will recover mentally is unknown.

"Thank you Doctor Po. Even in his weakened state he remains physically daunting." The doctor says referring to the fits Heero went through during the grand mall seizure.

"Thank you for letting me help Doctor Klaus."

"We are short staffed this New Year's Eve, so I am grateful that you were here to assist when it was needed." The doctor smiles faintly. "Heero's partner can go to see him. As long as he can remain calm."

Sally nods tiredly. "Thank you. I think I am going to knock his partner up with sedatives after he says hello. He's been an emotional wreck since he heard that there was a problem. Can another gurney fit into the room Heero is now?"

"Should be. Please let me know what you give his partner before you leave."

She smiles. "I'm actually going to hang around for a while. We're expecting one more person and, on the off chance Heero wakes up tonight, I want to be here to see how he is doing."

The other doctor nods. "I have a more comfortable waiting room back here. It has three couches and a television. Feel free to move back there. I'll show you where the employee break room is so you can get coffee or whatever else we have back there."

Sally smiles gratefully. "Thank you very much."

The doctor laughs. "I understand now why the Preventers have their own separate medical facility." Sally looks at him oddly. "You are all very protective over each other, makes treating patients difficult when they come with a 5 person entourage."

"Not all Preventers have an entourage."

"No, only your top agents, but in general the organization isn't easy on the field agents. It is just the nature of the work." The doctor smiles and proceeds to lead Sally to the break room, pointing to the waiting room that she and the boys can use is, as they pass it.

When Sally returns to the waiting room she sees the other three pilots huddled together in a corner. Duo does not appear to have moved from the fetal position she left him in and Trowa and Quatre surround him protectively.

"Duo." She calls out softly and large glistening violet eyes look at her. "He's out of surgery; they are making an exception for you and allowing you into the ICU to see him."

Duo nods dumbly and is gently helped up by his friends. Sally looks over her shoulder at Trowa and Quatre mouthing a silent thank-you before guiding the listless Duo to where Heero rests. "I know I don't have to tell you to remain calm Duo, but I'm going to remind you anyways."

They stop in front of the door to the room Heero is in. "Hey Sal, can you give me 10 minutes to talk to him before you knock me out?"

She laughs gently. "What makes you think I am going to do that?"

He shrugs. "Because I've been a mess ever since I got here and I'm not going to be able to sleep on my own until he's awake."

Sally smiles. "10 minutes. There is a hospital bed in there for you. Hopefully, there is a pillow and blanket there as well. I'm going to knock you out in there with him, but you're on wheels in case someone needs to move you."

"Thanks Doc." He smiles weakly, opens the door and walks into the room.

The lights are low, just bright enough so you don't crash into anything, but low enough that the brightness doesn't penetrate your eyelids if you are trying to sleep. Duo swallows slowly as he approaches Heero's bed. The only sounds in the room comes from the monitoring equipment. As Duo is able to see his friend more clearly, he finds himself crying again.

"Oh God, Heero. I'm so sorry." He says, as he walks over to Heero's right side where his own bed is. "I didn't listen to you because I was too busy trying to make sure I was getting laid tonight. Getting laid by some girl I don't really know and don't care about. I'm so fucking stupid." Duo sobs and looks Heero over.

There is one IV line on each interior of the elbow, one slowly dripping blood and the other dripping saline. Both of Heero arms are wrapped in gauze from just above the elbow, carefully wrapped around the IVs, down to the palm of his hands. Duo carefully brushes his hand over his friend's forehead. "I thought you wanted to talk about work, I couldn't understand why you needed to talk to me right then and there. But I should have. Heero you can't die on me. Because if you die, I swear to you I will be right behind you." Duo attempts to wipe away the tears that are blinding him with little luck.

"Heero Yuy you can't fucking leave me. I love you too much to let you do this to yourself and to me. God, I am so sorry Heero. Please be ok. We'll make it ok, you just have to wake up and let me help you." The Deathscythe pilot pleadingly sobs to the unmoving form in front of him. "Please don't leave me Heero." He pleads again before leaning over and kissing Heero's dry lips, praying to every god he knows to help his friend recover.

Carefully, Duo climbs onto his bed and arranges himself so that he can reach Heero's hand and he waits there until Sally comes back to sedate him. When Sally finally enters the room Duo is gently holding Heero's hand as if it was his life line. The lithe pilot's body shakes with fitful sobs as he stares blankly at Heero.

"Duo, this should keep you out for at least three hours. Hopefully, you're body will take the opportunity to rest. I'm going to stay here until Heero wakes up so don't worry about that." Duo nods his head but says nothing and does not look away from Heero. He doesn't acknowledge the needle piercing his skin and though he attempts to fight the drug as it courses through his body, his mind shuts down allowing him to fall into a dreamless sleep.

Sally makes sure that everything is fine with Duo before she disposes of the needle and syringe and returns to the private waiting room where Trowa and Quatre are. "He's in love with Heero." It is a statement to the other pilots with just a hint of a question. Quatre nods. "How long?" She asks.

"Since the wars. He didn't do or say anything about it because Heero seemed more interested in Relena." Quatre explains quietly.

"This just got one hundred times more complicated didn't it?" She asks redundantly and the men just shake their heads. "So now instead of minimal 24 hour supervision on Maxwell, I have two out of five of our top agents on suicide watch." She sighs and sits down on one of the unoccupied couches.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Two more to go, thanks to everyone who is reading. 

**Chapter 4**

After sitting down, Sally just curls on the couch to rest. She knows it is going to be a long night and she needs what rest she can get before either Duo or Heero awakens. Trowa and Quatre take the quite time as an opportunity to forage for some food and rest a bit as well. Eventually, both men end up on one of the other couches spooning together in a light sleep.

It is sometime after midnight, the New Year is upon the occupants of the out-of-the-way waiting room, when Chang Wufei enters. His dark eyes quickly survey the scene and finally rest on Sally. A small smile dances across his lips and he walks over to her and squats down by her head. She moves a miniscule amount, but does not wake up. Wufei gently rubs his hand over her hair and her eyes flutter open revealing her pale blue eyes.

"Hello." She murmurs in Chinese, happily grinning at the sight before her.

He kisses her and smiles back. "How are you doing?" He responds in kind.

Sally moves to a sitting position rather stiffly and stretches before she replies. "Exhausted." She continues in the language the conversation started in, not feeling the need to change it since Trowa and Quatre are still asleep on the other couch.

He sits next to her. "Not surprised, you were at work at 0500 this morning weren't you?"

Sally nods wearily and places her head on his shoulder. She has it there for a moment and then wrinkles her nose. "You stink."

Wufei's brow furls. "Woman, I came here without going home to shower and change."

The doctor grins. "But it is a sexy stink." She kisses him back. "Something about the smell of the outdoors and weapons makes me want you that much more." She glances down at her watch and frowns. "0220." Pale eyes look into dark ones. "Happy New Year. You and Barton want to do something for me?"

He raises a thin black eye brow. "What is it woman. Out with it."

Sally chuckles and glances at Trowa who begins to stir at the mention of his name amidst a jumble of Chinese. "Barton, wake up, I need your help." She says in the common language.

Trowa mumbles groggily and climbs over a still sleepy Quatre. "Chang." He inclines his head acknowledging his friend's presence.

"Barton." Wufei does the same and then both men focus on Sally.

"I'm giving you one last assignment before completely pulling you from active Preventer duty." Wufei gives her a warning glare to get on with it. "You two are going to go visit Ambassador Peacecraft and see how exactly she fits into all of this. I'm fairly certain Dorothy will be able to answer the question better, but I want to know what happened. Do not disclose that there are any serious problems with Agent Yuy and that he is in a hospital right now. Don't change, go as you are. Someone will be bound to give you an answer quickly if only to get you out of there. Any qu…"

Sally is cut off by a slightly frantic voice. "Doctor Po, you are need right away. The patient is awake, and…"

Sally quickly switches into Chief Medical Doctor mode. "Chang, Barton, go and don't get into a fight. Winner, wake up I need your help. Heero's up. Barton make sure your husband is up and on his way to Heero's room now." In a swish of honey blonde curls and starched cloth, Sally Po leaves the room.

As she approaches Heero's room she hears a loud primal, animalistic scream coming from the other side of the doors and she picks up her pace from a fast walk to a run. As she enters the room she surveys the scene. Heero is awake, though Sally doubts that he knows what is going on, and screaming. The IV needles dangling exposed and dripping with blood.

Duo is trying to get up, but she can tell by the look in his eyes that the drugs are still in his body. He looks wide-eyed at Sally, looks to Heero and back to Sally. "I need your help if you can muster it." She says loudly over the din of Heero's screams.

Sally does not wait for Duo's reply, instead she runs to fetch a needle and sedatives. This a few seconds and she's back in the room reading the drug for injection. Duo, in the few seconds it took Sally to get the sedative, had completely fought the drug off and is now on top of Heero, straddling his crazed friend's waist, pinning him to the table by the shoulders and hips.

Heero's eyes are glazing over and he has his right hand around Duo's throat, while his left arm lays unmoving at his side. He struggles beneath Duo, practically throwing his friend to the floor several times. "Fuck, Heero. Calm down." Duo half commands and half begs. "Sal, any help would be appreciated."

"Coming. This part can't be rushed Duo." She calmly replies, checking to make sure that everything is correct before swapping Heero's upper arm with alcohol and injecting the sedative into his body.

"Get away from me!" Heero shouts, but his eyes remain unfocused.

"Heero, who are you talking too?" Duo responds sternly.

As if not hearing Duo, Heero continues shouting. "You are not my master!"

Duo looks over at Sally and she sees a resolve in his violet eyes. Though, she doesn't know what he is about to do, she trusts him enough to let him do what he thinks he should do.

"Heero Yuy. With whom do you think you speak?" Duo speaks slowly in a low and rumbling, but commanding voice.

"I do not need to tell you who you are." He snaps back.

"Very well, Heero Yuy. I will not speak to you, since you cannot speak to me in a civilized fashion. You will, though, speak to Shinigami. I am placing you in his care."

"You are weak if you cannot control me."

"No, I am tired of your rebellious attitude. You are here in my domain because you took your own life and you knew where you were going to go. You will deal with Shinigami. And that is final. Stay where you are and he will arrive when I leave." Duo manages to remain in character for the conversation, but when it ends he draws a shaky breath and looks at Sally. She nods for him to continue.

Heero stops squirming beneath Duo and the violet-eyed man lowers himself so that his lips brush against Heero's ear as he speaks. "Heero Yuy, the Lord of Hell has already tired of you." Duo's voice is soft, husky and sensual. "If you stay here, you will be made an example of."

Heero closes his eyes when Duo begins speaking, the arm that was around his friend's neck falls to rest on the bed. Sally notices that both wounds have begun to bleed again and the areas where the IV needles had been violently pulled out are, luckily, starting to clot.

"I made my decision. I must accept the punishment." Heero's hoarse voice whispers back.

"But what if you had another chance? What if I allowed you to return to the land of the living?"

"It wouldn't matter. No one needs me there. There is no reason to go back." Out of the corner of his eye, Duo can see tears forming in the Japanese Agent's eyes.

"You are wrong Heero Yuy. Everyone needs you. You body lies at a hospital, your friends have been by your side since they found your body dying."

"You spew lies. What is it you want from me? I have nothing to offer anyone. I am invisible to the world."

"Shinigami does not lie, Heero Yuy, you of all people should know that. I want you to go back to your body that lies in the hospital and live your life." Duo manages to keep his voice from wavering as he speaks, but each breath he draws is shaky and slow.

"But no one needs me." Heero practically cries, tears now freely running down his cheeks.

"Heero Yuy. Duo Maxwell has not left your body's side. Sally Po has been attempting to save your body from ultimate death. Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton stopped doing everything to rescue your body from where it sat dying. Chang Wufei came directly to the hospital after being on a radio silent mission for three days to be here for you. Director Une has even ordered that the other pilots be removed from duty because she knows that they will all be here for you until you are all right."

"Duo Maxwell does not care. I am invisible to him." The Wing Zero pilot weeps.

"No, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell will join you in Hell if you do not return to the living. You are that, which makes him wake up every morning." Duo continues to whisper seductively as tears begin to flow down his cheeks.

"He wouldn't do that. He loves life too much."

"He loves you more. To Duo Maxwell, life is precious because you are in it. Without you, his life is empty and devoid of that spark that makes each day wonderful. When I say, Duo Maxwell will join you in Hell, I speak the truth. Shinigami never lies." Duo hisses the last three words. "You will sleep now and rest. When you awaken you will be in the Preventers' hospital. Duo Maxwell will be by your side and your other friends will be nearby."

"I don't deserve a second chance."

"You do not get to decree who I allow a second chance. I do not want to see you in front of me again until you die of old age, having lived, loving each day fullest, until that time. Do you understand me?"

Heero nods weakly. "Yes."

"Good. Now you will rest your soul a little so I can return you to your body and your life."

Heero nods again. "Okay." With that his body visibly relaxes and he sinks into the bed. Before Duo moves he kissing Heero lightly on the lips, tears still running down their cheeks.

Duo carefully climbs off the bed, but his legs give out from under his weight as he touches the cool floor. Luckily, Sally grabs hold of him and lowers him slowly down. Duo's arms wrap around Sally's waist and he starts to cry harder.

Sally looks up and sees Quatre watching from the observation window and motions for him to come into the room. Quatre nods and silently walks over to them. "Can you take over? I need to take care of Heero." The platinum blonde nods and lowers himself to the ground, seamlessly taking Sally place.

Sally stands, washes up, grabs gloves, supplies and begins patching Heero back up. "Quatre, can you help Duo get washed up? I think he has blood in his hair from when he tried to restrain Heero, it also looks like he's got some on his clothes too. I'm sure someone would be kind enough to provide him with something clean to wear like they did for Trowa." She says calmly as she unwraps Heero's arms to ascertain the damage he did to himself in his fit.

"No problem." Quatre says as happily as he can and turns his attention to Duo. "Come on Duo, let's go get you cleaned up so you can be back by the time Heero wakes up.

Duo merely nods, allows Quatre pick him up and follows his friend to find the showers, leaving Sally to work on Heero.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Keeping a secure guiding arm around Duo's waist, Quatre leads him away from Heero's room. The blonde stops a passing employee and asks where the showers are located. He points down the hall and tells him how to get there, as where he can get towels. Quatre thanks the man for his assistance and leads a weak Duo to the showers.

The blonde watches his friend from the corner of his eyes. Duo leans heavily on Quatre's lean, sturdy frame. "I'm sorry Quat." Duo says softly as he wipes still flowing tears from his cheeks.

"For what Duo?" Quatre asks in return; his voice as soft and as soothing as he can make it considering the circumstances.

"For ruining your evening with Trowa."

Quatre smiles a small sad smile. "Duo, you didn't ruin it. You could not have known that Heero was going to try to kill himself."

"But I should have Quat." Duo insists, finding more of his voice as he does so.

Quatre stops walking, turns to Duo and grips his shoulder tightly. "Duo Maxwell. There was no way for you to know. So stop blaming yourself right it now!"

Duo's tears fall quicker now, blinding his vision. "But Quat…"

The blonde gives his friend a swift violent shake. "No Duo! No buts!" Duo whimpers through his tears, but says nothing, so Quatre continues. "You love him Duo, you've been in love with him for a long time. So now it is time to be there for him. Help to show him that there are people who truly want and need him on this planet. Help him see how glorious life can be and how absolutely wonderful it is to be in love." As Quatre says this he fights back tears of his own.

"Oh, God, Quat." Duo cries and tries to desperately wipe the tears away.

Quatre takes a deep breath and repositions himself so he is once again supporting Duo and leading him to the showers, which are now a mere twenty feet away.

Once inside Quatre leads Duo to the last shower stall and sits him on a seat right outside of it. "I'll be right back." He says and reassuringly caresses Duo's cheek.

The Deathscythe pilot nods mutely and stares at the shower stall. Quatre returns moments later with a stack of towels and places them next to his zoned out friend. "Stand up." Duo complies and Quatre begins to undress him. Systematically removing all his friends clothes and separating them two piles; blood soaked and not. When he is finished he leaves Duo standing there naked while he strips—folding his clothes neatly as he does so—and enters the stall to bring the water to temperature.

When the blonde is satisfied with the temperature of the water, he returns to where Duo stands and takes his hand, gently pulling him into the hot, comforting stream. The first thing Quatre does is remove the small elastic from the end of Duo's extremely long, non-regulation braid, and unravel the thick luxurious chestnut hair. From time to time he would stop and work on a particular blood matted knot and Duo would start weeping anew.

"You've seen Heero bleed before." Quatre says just loud enough to be heard over the din of the water.

"But never had to wash it out of my hair." Duo chokes and watches the maroon tainted water disappear down the drain. "I want his hands and face buried in it, not his blood."

"I know, but you still have that chance." Quatre reminds his friend as he loosens the rest of the long plait. He reaches around Duo and pumps several hand full of shampoo into his hand from the dispenser on the wall and starts working the sterile smelling liquid into the wet silken tresses before him.

"God, that smells awful." Duo notes and wrinkles his nose, his tears forgotten for a moment.

"Deal with it." Quatre says with a playful smile.

Duo mumbles grumpily and then stops abruptly when Quatre starts to massage the soap into his scalp. He closes his violet eyes, a blissful expression crossing his face. The blonde can feel some of the tension fading and so he continues working the soap into the tresses in front of him, hoping that it will help Duo calm down to be strong enough to support Heero when he wakes up.

When Quatre is done shampooing Duo's hair, he applies liberal amounts of conditioner to the chestnut locks and works the slick, thick substance in until he's fairly sure every stand is coated. Gently, he turns Duo around by the shoulder, reaches around for some pumps of body soap, rubs his hands together to foam the soap and quickly washes his friend's body, making sure to remove all traces of Heero's blood from his porcelain skin. "Close your eyes." Quatre demands and Duo complies, allowing his face to be washed.

Quatre turns Duo back around, washes the remnants of the soap off of Duo's face and body and then washes the excess conditioner out of his hair. When the blonde is satisfied that his friend is clean and thoroughly rinsed, he shuts off the water and fetches towels for both of them.

"Start to dry off. I'll get you something to wear." Duo nods. "And the other towel is for your hair." Duo nods again and begins to towel off while Quatre quickly dries, dresses and goes to find something clean for Duo to wear.

Quatre returns to the showers a handful of minutes later with a pair of scrubs and hospital socks. "This is the best I could do." He hands the clothes to his friend, who takes them and puts them on the dry bench outside the shower.

"You didn't happen to find a comb did you?" Duo asks somewhat pathetically as he motions to tangled mess that is his hair.

"Do you have one in your car?"

Duo shakes his head. "Don't think so. Have one in my gym bag, but I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to grab it before I left."

"Want me to see if I can find one?"

Duo thinks for a moment. "Nah, it's ok. I'll just untangle it the best I can and braid it again. I'll worry about knots later. Got more important things to worry about than my hair." He forces a smile, flips his head upside down and wraps his hair in the towel.

Quatre chuckles quietly. "True." They are quiet for a moment while Duo sorts the assortment of clothes. "How are you holding up?"

Duo thinks for a moment. "I don't know Quat. I am having a really hard time working all of this out in my head. I didn't want him to find out like this. I'm not sure how I wanted him to find out, but I had hoped that it might have been a mutual discovery culminating in mind blowing sex. I have obviously screwed that all up." He sighs and pulls on the scrub bottoms. "I definitely did not expect to tell him as he freaked out thinking he was dead and talking to Shinigami."

Quatre looks at Duo with a raised brow. "Shinigami?"

"Yeah, I think he believed that he was in Hell and talking to Satan and just freaked out. So I pretended to be Satan and then Shinigami to get him to calm down while Sal pumped him full of tranquilizers."

"Well, it might actually have been what he needed to hear, even if he thought that he was dead. It might have instilled some level of hope, and right now I think Heero needs all the hope he can get." Quatre says as Duo reaches behind his head to start braiding his hair.

"Hope so." Duo mutters and pulls the long wet mass of hair over his shoulder and continues to braid it. "I need to get back Q. I feel guilty about having left to take a shower."

Quarte nods and pulls a plastic bag out of his pocket and puts Duo's worn clothes in it. "Don't feel guilty Duo, just be there for him." The man braiding his hair nods weakly. "Come on, you go see Heero and I'll bring your clothes back with me to the waiting room." Duo nods again and lets his friend guide him by the elbow out of the showers and down the hall to where their paths diverge.

"Thanks Quat. I really mean that."

Quatre turns and smiles. "Don't thank me Duo, there is no reason to. Go see Heero."

Duo nods and turns down the hall leading to the ICU. As he reaches the main door, he finishes braiding his hair and peers behind the nurses' station to see if there is a stray rubber band there. He smiles as he snags a lone band, ties off the braid and pushes through the double doors.

The timing appears to be perfect because Sally is walking out of Heero's room just as Duo approaches. "How is he doing?

Sally jumps at the sound of Duo's voice, but recovers quickly and looks at him. "Ok. I had to restrain him in case he wants to repeat his earlier performance. But he's all stitched up again." She says wearily and rubs her forehead.

"How are the wounds?" Duo asks quietly.

"Healing faster than I expected considering how much blood he lost. I wouldn't doubt he's going to regain consciousness soon if he keeps healing at the rate he is."

"Is it ok if I go back in there with him?"

Sally shakes her head. "I don't see why not. Use the call button if you need something, I'm going to go lay down until Wufei gets back."

"Thanks Sal." They exchange tired smiles and Duo enters Heero's room, crawls up onto the other bed, pulls the hospital blanket up over him and falls into a light sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Duo?" Heero Yuy asks in a raspy voice as he looks at his best friend lying on a hospital bed next to him.

The Deathscythe pilot blinks several times and looks at his friend. "'Ro? 'm I dreaming?" He asks, still half asleep.

Heero shakes his head stiffly. "Only if I am." He says weakly and tries to sit up, only to find he can't and cranes his neck to see why. "I'm restrained?" Cobalt eyes look back to Duo. "Why?"

"You freaked out and ripped you IVs and stitches out. Sal didn't want to have to sew you back up again so she restrained you." A small smirk crosses Duo's face. "I think she secretly did it so she could get back at you for escaping from your restraints back during the war." He slides off his bed and stands next to Heero. "How ya feeling?"

"Not sure. Where am I?"

Duo's brow furls as he studies his friend. "You tried to kill yourself 'Ro. Where do you think you are?"

Heero's brow furls in turn and he looks away trying to remember. He takes a deep breath and looks back at his friend. "I was hoping it was some sort of nightmare."

The man with the long damp braid licks his lips nervously and replies, "No 'Ro, not a dream. It really happened, and you wouldn't be here talking to me if Quatre didn't have his space heart thing and sensed something was wrong. He and Tro' got to you just in time to save your life."

The man restrained to the bed swallows hard, closes his eyes and turns his head away from his friend. "I'm sorry Duo. I think it made sense then." He says so quietly Duo has to take a moment to put it together.

"Can you explain it to me?" He rests his hand on his friend's bicep and with the other he gently places a hand on the cheek furthest from him and pulls gently so that they are looking at each other. "I need to know why you felt like you had to die. What happened Heero?"

"I called Relena to ask her what our plans were for New Years Eve, and it seems she forgot to break up with me. Said it was on her calendar to tell me, but got rescheduled. She'd already made plans to spend it with someone else. When I asked her why, she told me that I was a frigid, boring, didn't know how to be anything but a soldier and a horrible lover. Then I went to talk to you and you wouldn't even look at me. I felt invisible… unneeded." He explains, turning away to hide the fact that tears are threatening to flow.

Duo grasps both sides of Heero's face, a little rougher than he wants too, and makes him make eye contact. "God 'Ro, I need you. I need you so bad it hurts."

"You wouldn't look at me Duo."

"I thought you wanted to talk about work and I was thinking with my dick." He laughs bitterly. "And I probably wouldn't have slept with her anyway."

Heero looks confused. "Why not? You always have a girl."

"I don't sleep with any of them. Haven't had sex in over two years 'Ro, not since I did something stupid."

The look of confusion doesn't leave his face. "What could have stopped you from having sex?",

"I did that thing that people joke about and say only happens in movies, and called someone else's name when I came."

Heero's eyes go wide. "Whose name?" He asks hesitantly, like he's afraid of the response.

Duo sighs and removes his hands from Heero's face, letting them fall to his side. "The name of the person I'm in love with." He says as he looks down.

"Who?" Heero asks again.

"Not now Heero. Now isn't the time. God, a few hours ago you were dying, we shouldn't be talking about this right now.",

"Duo, I need to know." Heero pleads.

Duo takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "You, 'Ro. I'm in love with you. Been in love with you since the wars."

A tension filled silence settles between them and then Heero whispers. "Kiss me."

Disbelief shines in Duo's amethyst eyes. "What?"

"Kiss me. Please." Heero pleads.

"Heero, don't do this to me." Duo pleads in return.

"Do this for us, please."

Duo swallows, closes his eyes, nods his head and looks directly at Heero, who nods back. With shaking hands, Duo once again reaches out and grasps Heero face, his thumbs brushing against his best friends flushed cheeks. "Kiss me like you mean it." Heero says quietly.

Then, before any more words can be exchanged, Duo's lips meet Heero's. For a moment he hesitates, realizing that this is a really bad idea. His friend is restrained to a hospital bed after trying to kill himself and here they are kissing, mere hours afterwards.

Heero senses Duo's hesitation and parts his lips enough for his tongue to tease Duo's lips. His friend's reaction is instantaneous as he allows the kiss to deepen. They cannot tell how long they kiss for, because neither wants to be the one to end it. But a warm wetness on their cheeks causes them to stop and Duo slowly pulls away from Heero.

"We're crying." Heero observes.

"So it would seem." Duo says and wipes Heero's tears away with his thumbs.

"Why?"

Duo lowers his head so that their foreheads touch. "Because we should have done that a long time ago."

"Yeah."

"'Ro?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't know what the hell Relena was talking about, you kiss better than anyone I've ever kissed."

Heero looks skeptical. "Doubtful."

Duo snorts a laugh. "Then I'll have to double check, just to make sure." He grins and captures Heero's lips again.

There is a sound of someone clearing their throat and Duo jumps back, clasping his hands behind his back as he looks at the intruder.

"Well, I have got to admit I didn't think you could heal this fast Heero. I thought at best you'd be groggy and just a little with it, I didn't expect you and Maxwell to be swapping saliva."

Both Heero and Duo turn bright red, but say nothing. Sally sighs, picks up Heero's chart, makes a note and puts it back down. She then walks over to cabinet and pulls out some gloves and the items needed to draw blood. "Heero, just because you are genetically enhanced, and heal faster than most people, doesn't mean your mind has healed."

"Can you take the restraints off?"

Sally looks at him like he's crazy. "Did you see what you did to yourself Heero?"

He shakes his head. "No, not really. It seems like a dream."

She sighs, pulls on her gloves and walks over to the bed. She raises the back so Heero is almost in a sitting position and slowly removes the gauze covering his arms. She removes the long strips covering the length of the cuts together so he sees both incisions at the same time. "This is what you did Heero. Une has ordered therapy and you are on the inactive list until the psychiatrist and I clear you. You're also going to be required to stay at headquarters until the psychiatrist declares that you are no longer a risk to yourself."

Heero looks at his arms and pales. He'd a lot of things done to him during the war. He'd broken so many bones he has lost count and he'd been shot just as many times, and each time he took it in stride, but this was too much. It doesn't look real. It doesn't feel like he is looking at his own arms. He looks at Sally and then at Duo and just breaks down as tears begin to stream down his face.

"Lay back Heero, I've got to wrap your arms back up." He does as ordered while choking back sobs.

"Can I stay Sal?" Duo asks quietly.

She nods. "But I don't want a repeat performance of the show I just witnessed. Neither of you are mentally capable to make sound judgments, especially when it comes to relationships. Curl up next to each other – fine. Friendly or comforting hugs – fine. But hands don't wander and lips don't meet any part of the other person." Duo nods weakly and crawls back up onto his bed.

Sally looks to Heero. "I'll remove the restraints when the incisions start closing up. They've stopped bleeding and don't look to be infected, but the less you move the faster they'll heal. I'm going to keep you on IV nutrients for a while longer, until you can get up, which considering the rate that you are healing, shouldn't be that much longer." He nods, staving off the tears and she finishes drawing blood and marking his chart.

"Well boys, Wufei and I are going home to get some sleep. We'll both be back later when we finally roll out of bed." She leans over Heero and kisses his forehead. "I'm glad we didn't lose you." She looks at Duo. "Take care of him while I'm gone."

"Aye, Aye Doc." She smiles gently to both of them and leaves. The boys watch her meet Wufei right outside the door and walk away together.

Duo lies on his side so that one of his hands can reach Heero's. "Don't try to leave us again Heero, please?" He asks with a gentle squeeze.

Heero doesn't acknowledge the squeeze, but he tries to smile. "I think my actions earlier were premature."

Duo laughs. "That is the understatement of the year 'Ro. You know, no matter what, I will be here for you. Right?"

"Now I do. I didn't then."

^v^ Fin? ^v^

Author's End Note: Well that is the end of one of my diversion stories. I thought about how fast I 'healed' Heero, but since he seemed fairly indestructible in the series, I figured I could get away with it.  
>Thanks to all those who read and took the time to review. You are brilliant. Cheers all.<p> 


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